Rizzo gets 100th RBI in game-changing rally

CHICAGO -- Anthony Rizzo secured his fourth straight 100-RBI season, and it could not have come at a better time for the Cubs.
Rizzo smacked an RBI double off Cardinals rookie Jack Flaherty in the middle of a four-run rally with two outs in the third inning that gave the Cubs their first lead en route to a 10-5 victory in a high-stakes season finale on Sunday at Wrigley Field. The Cubs are tied with the Brewers for first in the National League Central, forcing a Monday tiebreaker at Wrigley Field (1 ET/noon CT on ESPN).
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Rizzo finished 4-for-4, the fourth time this season he's posted four hits.
"He was ready to play. They were all ready to play, but he was definitely into it," Cubs manager Joe Maddon said.
With two outs and the Cubs down, 2-0, in the third, Daniel Murphy doubled and scored on Ben Zobrist's triple. Zobrist then tallied on a wild pitch to tie the game at 2 and Javier Báez walked. Baez, who was thrown out at home in the first trying to score on Rizzo's single, tallied on the double to right-center.

"It's a credit to all the guys -- they get on base a lot," Rizzo said. "It's something that I take pride in, that's for sure. It's something, to be honest, I did not think I'd reach in the middle of May this year. It feels good but all that personal stuff does not matter right now. It's all about getting a 'W' [on Monday]."
Rizzo got off to a slow start this season and had 14 RBIs through the first 24 games. On May 9, he drove in five runs against the Marlins and went on a roll.
The Cubs didn't stop after Rizzo's hit in the third. After Kris Bryant was intentionally walked by Flaherty, the Cards turned to reliever Chasen Shreve, and Jason Heyward greeted the lefty with a single that knocked in Rizzo and sent Bryant to third. Kyle Schwarber's groundout to third ended the inning as the Cubs batted around.
"We had a lot of two-out rallies -- two-out knocks, two-out walks," Rizzo said. "It kept things going and kept the line moving. We usually have success when we do that."
Rizzo is the first left-handed batter in Cubs history to reach 100 RBIs in four seasons, let alone consecutive seasons. Hall of Famer Billy Williams reached 100 RBIs three times with the Cubs (1965, '70 and '72).